He left the meeting and returned to his room at the Beachcomber to change into running clothes. Two laps around the island’s perimeter road was just over six miles, which he ran at a punishing pace. Exercise had been his salvation in prison, where he’d run on the treadmill and lifted weights every chance he got. The freedom to run outdoors… That was something he’d never again take for granted.
As always, the physical exertion helped to center him. He found it ironic that he’d never been in better shape in his life than he’d been in prison. It took having his whole life taken from him to figure out what mattered and to regain his health. He’d lost things he could never get back, though… His wife and sons, his only brother, his parents, sister, niece and nephew.
Nina had encouraged him to forgive himself, but some things… Some things were simply unforgivable.
Cindy Lawry was upearly printing flyers to hang at the salon, the diner, the ferry landing and grocery store, all the places people on the island were most likely to see her appeal for a new roommate. Her sister Julia was officially moving out at the end of the month, not that she’d ever really lived in the tiny house they’d shared. She was madly in love with Deacon Taylor and was basically living with him at his place while still paying her half of the rent to Cindy.
It was foolish, Cindy had told her sister, to waste her money paying for a place she didn’t use, so she’d officially “kicked Julia out” as of October first. With the season ending and business at the Curl Up and Dye salon slowing, Cindy needed a roommate ASAP.
Before work, she hung as many flyers as she could, thanking the shop owners for letting her post them and asking them to talk up the year-round room for rent. They were hard to come by on the island, so she was confident it would go quickly. However, she wasn’t going to settle for just anyone. It had to be a good fit. After growing up in a house with an abusive father, Cindy was all about peace and tranquility in her adult life.
Cindy had been hired to cut hair at Chloe Dennis’s salon after Chloe was asked to spearhead the new spa at the McCarthys’ hotel in North Harbor. Chloe suffered from rheumatoid arthritis that impacted her hands, so she had said the job at the salon was Cindy’s for as long as she wanted it. With a thousand year-round residents on the island and no other haircut joint in town, Chloe had assured her she’d make enough to get through the winter after the tourists left.
She put the last flyer on the door to the salon and then flipped the sign from Closed to Open. Her first appointment of the day was a cut and color for Mallory James, the nurse practitioner who’d married Dr. Quinn James in August. They were the medical directors at the Marion Martinez Senior Care Facility.
Mallory came in bearing coffee and a corn muffin for Cindy.
“You’re too sweet. Thank you. I’ll enjoy that during my break.”
“Rebecca’s corn muffins are the best.” Mallory put her coffee on the counter and backtracked to take a photo of Cindy’s flyer on the door. “I have a friend who’s looking. Are you accepting men?”
“As long as they aren’t creepy, I’m fine.”
“He’s a good guy. I think he’d be a nice roommate.”
“Thanks for passing it along. I hope I can find someone soon. Julia has already moved out, but she’s hoping someone will move in right away and reimburse her for this month’s rent, which she insisted on paying so I wouldn’t be caught short. She wants to buy a car.”
“I’ll see him in the morning and will give him the info. Is it okay for him to text you to set up a time to see it?”
“Sure. That works.”
They got down to business with color to cover the few gray hairs Mallory had noticed, followed by a cut and blow-dry of her dark hair.
“So how was the honeymoon?” Cindy asked as she cut two inches off the length and added some layers to the front.
“It was amazing. Neither of us had ever been to Ireland, and we loved every minute of it.”
“That’s on my bucket list, along with a hundred other places.” The Lawry family had moved frequently when her dad was on active duty, but none of the places they’d lived had been particularly interesting.
“I hope you get to go. It’s magical.”
“And your brother’s wife going into labor during the wedding. You McCarthys don’t do anything the easy way.”
“I know, right?” Mallory said with a laugh. “I wasn’t expecting the Life Flight helicopter to come to my wedding or for Maddie to have the babies on the chopper, but thankfully, the girls and Maddie are doing great, and Mac is adjusting to being a father of five.”
“Five kids,” Cindy said. “That’s a lot.”
“I know.”
“My mom had seven with a husband who deployed. How’d she do that?” Not that her father had been much help to anyone when he was home. They’d all preferred the deployments that had gotten less frequent as he’d risen through the ranks.
“Mothers are superheroes. Maddie sure is. She handles everything with good humor and sarcasm that makes me laugh. They’re blessed to have a wonderful nanny helping during Mac’s busy season, which makes such a big difference.”
“Will the nanny stay on in the off-season?”
“She promised Maddie she’d stay until the twins’ first birthday, which also my birthday, Quinn’s birthday and our anniversary. How cool is that?”
“Very cool. How’s Abby doing?” Abby was married to Mallory’s brother Adam McCarthy.